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FCC Cracks Down on Robocalls
Cara_Latham writes "If you want to receive annoying robocalls from telemarketers you will have to opt in. Federal Communications Commission rules now require that telemarketers get your consent before dialing your number. Telemarketers will also have to obtain consent even if they had previously 'done business with' the consumer on the receiving end of a call."
Can we add text messages to this please?
I'm tired of paying per-message to receive spam.
I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....
This only makes sense, considering that most people probably use their mobile phone as their primary phone these days. It really pisses me off when I'm in the store and my phone rings with a robocall telling me my car warranty is nearly expired.
And that clause will consent to everything for the end of time.
Full article is behind a login wall, here's a workaround:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204792404577225922293962202.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....
Two months ago, legislation was due to be voted on that permitted robocalls to cell phones. Now the FCC imposes new laws, which are essentially the laws as they were intended when passed in 1991. The real question is, will anyone actually enforce them? I already got a call to lower my energy bill and an important call about my current credit card account this evening, both on my cell.
Do Not Call and reporting to the FCC? Hasn't done squat to slow down these phone number jacking, robocalling, dinner-interrupting, law dodging a-holes.
When the foot seeks the place of the head, the line is crossed. Know your place. Keep your place. Be a shoe.
Make $700/hour working from home no experience required
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There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
... By using this website, service, or product, (henceforth known only as The Service) you grant The Company the right to robocall using any telephone network or communications medium at our sole discretion. Any attempt to subvert, co-opt, or bypass this provision will render use of The Service illegal, and we reserve the right to take any legal measures available to us to end your use of The Service. An electronic signature is as valid as a physical one for the purposes of enforcing this section of the End User Licensing Agreement.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
... from cardholder services
It's the campaigners I want to stop calling me.
Here's the phone number of the Direct Marketing Association. You can call them to let them know your feelings about this topic.
212.768.7277
Let's specifically target that phone spamming group. Give us an easier/better way to track and report phone calls from them. Actually do something to stop them.
"Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
There's just one word for this: YEAH!
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
A paywall?
Are you effing serious, subby?
http://www.fcc.gov/guides/robocalls
--
BMO
cosmonaut?
The FCC didn't give a shit three years ago, when the car-warranty scammers were robo-calling every phone number, including cell phones. How many thousand complaints did they get over that one? No, the FCC didn't do jack until the robo-callers called a US senator. That got them shut down.
Or look at the recent SOPA/PIPA debate, and the ensuing MegaUpload takedown. No SOPA/PIPA? No matter!
Why should I believe these new "rules" have any real meaning, for either the FCC or the miscreants?
http://www.fcc.gov/guides/unwanted-telephone-marketing-calls
For those who could not be arsed to click the link in the preceding page.
It explains everything without having to look up the law itself.
--
BMO
I hate them.
From the blocked caller ID to the robo calls. I'm just over it.
We should shift everything to some kind of VOIP system entirely bypassing the whole network while giving everyone superior service. it's not like the telephone company isn't already doing VOIP internally to move calls around. And this way instead of having stupid phone numbers we can have more recognizable screen names... caller ID that can't be blocked... and ideally a call filtering system that lets people get calls they want reject those they don't and send everything else to sorted voice mail.
This is the 21st century. Phones were great in the 20th. Enough. Same thing with the postal service. Deliver at most once a week. Anyone that needs mail delivered more often then once a week can fedex it.
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
http://www.fcc.gov/complaints
Well, this signature thing is going against 25 years of habit. I shall remove it.
your friendly political campaigns efforts to use robocalls to discourage minority voters from attending polls, slander their opponents before the the big vote, or piss you off before supper sleep or sex will remain unaffected by this regulation. should you wish to file a complaint please direct messages to the round smelly bin in your home, or in petrol form to the windows of the appropriate politician accordingly.
regards,
commission of communications.
Good people go to bed earlier.
This won't change a thing. The companies that are the worst offenders are already breaking the law, and don't care. They won't care any more if some new penalty is added. They fake caller ID and don't observe the Do Not Call List. Most of these aren't even legitimate marketing calls, but some kind of scam or another. They're breaking the law in so many ways it isn't even funny.
Fortunately, you can avoid these calls today by using a cell phone. For some reason, they do avoid making calls to cell phones. I imagine not because of the stronger laws, but because the cell phone companies (speculation, on my part) DO block these callers somehow.
I need to get rid of my home phone. I haven't used it in ages, and it just forwards to my cell. When my home phone rings, then I see an incoming call on my cell, I know it's just an annoying marketing call.
I notice that there is no sign of stopping congresscritters, or the survey-takers in their employ, from robocalling. Since that's the vast majority of robocalls that I get I doubt that this is going to make any change in my life.
FYI, it's not enough to tell a phone caller to take you off their list. You need to say, "Put me on your Do Not Call List." They're required by law to do so, and any time they sell or rent their phone list the DNC list is required to go with it. If they tell you they're not required to have a DNC List because they work for some slimeball pretend non-profit that does political work I've found that the following technique works. Say, "If I were to cuss and swear at you then you would put our number on a list of people not to call again. Please put our number on that list." Those two simple changes changed the number of calls that an acquaintence got from 7-8 a night to 7-8 a week.
If you're ever required to put down a phone number, for store discount cards or something, use the same number that I (and a hundred other people do). (321) 123-4567. You'll be amazed at the number of cashiers that think it's really your phone number.
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
I'm really going to be lonesome when I stop getting that "lower your interest rates" call twice a day.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
Assuming that this is implemented properly in US, does this cover people like me in Canada who are called by telemarketers from US?
For AT&T it's 7726 ("spam" on the keys). They appear to be using the information provided to go after the spammers. Plus, if you forward it, you (and they) have a record so you can apply for a refund of the SMS fees on those messages.
Robo callers over the last 30 days, all apparently the same "cruise" line asshole:
2533829077
5039028179
5034571122
2062004646
5032009194
And if you google these numbers you'll find that they are American numbers mostly calling Canadians.
A blanket ban, particularly against politicians. Yes I know there are some legitimate uses (pharmacy confirmations and such) But just make it an outright ban. And fine the shit out of anyone doing them. Make it a felony to spoof the ID in order to make them.
All that will happen is Canadian/Offshore companies will call the US as US companies now call Canada to get around Canadian rules.
It is now so bad that I don't answer long distance calls where I don't recognize the number.
What is needed is a rapid response/fine structure. Telcos have to block the number the instant they have proof that it is making naughty calls. Not 30 days but 24hours. Also what is stopping these agencies from buying one of these scam offers and then having the FBI track where the money goes and shutting seizing the whole pile?
I haven't had a call from a telemarketer in years.
I guess they finally got tired of me wasting their time and asking all kinds of stupid questions about the shit they were selling, and then finally saying I'm not interested. I once spent a 20 minute train ride on the phone talking about some fish oil and vitamin pills.
I don't get billed for them calling me though.
play with them / eat up there time. Next time I hear that free cruise call I may want to tell them that you have called the $2 a min with a $5 min cost per call support line and then start asking them alot of PC questions.
I don't really have anything to add to this discussion. I just wanted to call out Nationwide Insurance for robo-calling me so I can save money on my insurance. Not only have I never ever ever had anything to do with them, never even been to their site or called for a quote, they came from an 'unknown' number.
I just wanted to give this grievance a little air-time since they're currently running ads on TV. If you share my annoyance with telemarketers, consider mentally associating their jingle with robo-calls. "Nationwide is on your side."
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
When the U.S. government does something good, you know it is because it benefits rich people.
This has been done already, it's called the Do-Not-Call registry
The Do-Not-Call registry does not prevent all unwanted calls. It does not cover the following:
- calls from organizations with which you have established a business relationship;
- calls for which you have given prior written permission;
- calls which are not commercial or do not include unsolicited advertisements;
- calls by or on behalf of tax-exempt non-profit organizations
http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/do-not-call-list
I've registered ever phone number I've had. I have never had a problem with with advertiser and never get any Robo calls,
other than the library calling for their books back.
Then why have I gotten 7 robocalls from 'Rachel from Card Services' in the last 48 hours?
I get robocalls from companies I have no business relation with on my mobile phone, which is also on the do not call list. This is currently illegal. When this happens, I dutifully fill out the forms on the FCC complaint site, with all the details. Afterward I am sent a snail mail letter acknowledging the form. Rinse and repeat, but no changes. I still get robocalls from the same number as the complaint. I'm talking 20 or 30 of complaints over six months.
So this new "tougher" rule is supposed to do what exactly? Nobody is enforcing the existing rules, why make new rules? For good PR, I guess.
They should just make it illegal to use any machine that dials people and plays a recorded message. Anyone wants to reach you (including non-profit organizations, charities, survey organizations, political parties etc), they can employ a bunch of people to ring numbers manually (even if what came down the phone at the other end was a pre-recorded message, if they had to dial the number manually it would be enough to discourage this practice due to the cost of hiring staff to dial)
auto-dialers are one of those inventions the world would be better off without (like the technology Hollywood uses to turn 2D films into crappy-looking near-unwatchable 3D films)
Your sig already appears under the subject, so the post-sig is redundant, lengthens pages on short screens, and is mildly annoying since viewing sigs can be enabled in each member's settings. That said, I have found many of your posts useful and interesting, and am grateful you contribute. Thanks.
With AT&T you can block all texts that come from the internet.
Many other carriers have a similar option. It doesn't cost anything.
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
Yeah, but I just tried the auto-sig (which you are referring to, and by force of habit of 25 years, I typed the --BMO thing. If I turn auto-sigs on, you will see me having --BMO *and* the auto-sig. And I don't think anyone wants that.
Because it's so automatic, that when I want to sign off on my real name in email, about half the time BMO comes out rather than my name. That's how ingrained it is.
Thanks for mentioning my posts. I really don't expect anyone to find them very edifying. They are just my opinions most of the time (except when I link to third party sources).
Does the protection afford a defense against a company allowing robocalls to its affiliates if you agree to a EULA?
_ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
This day and age you automatically opt in to everything, glance a shopping listing on google? Guess what? your opted in for spam mail and now phone calls, requirement filled.
Have you considered the possibility that you receive these calls claiming to be from collections is because someone has opened accounts in your name, having stolen your identity, and given them your number to call when they don't pay what, in the eyes of the lender are YOUR bills?
Might be a good time to check your credit report, unless you just don't care about that. If you see a bunch of inquiries and accounts that are not yours, you might want to consider taking some kind of action about that.
Just a suggestion.
I would like to have a device that would hook into my phone line between where the service comes in and the first phone on the circuit, i.e something that would work on every phone. That device would answer each phone call and say "Please press $RANDOM_NUMBER to continue this call". If the number is pressed, ring my phone. Otherwise, not.
If you're a zombie and you know it, bite your friend!
since many telemarketers aren't in the US, wtf can the FCC do to stop them?
When the FCC starts making telemarketers take off their shoes and choose between nudie pictures in a backscatter X-Ray or genital groping, then we can call it a "crackdown". Until then, whatever they are doing is fake and lame because my phone is still ringing several times a day from Card Services Inc and Courtesy Call in Nevada and lord knows how many other scum gherkins whose heads I'd love to have posted on pikes outside my local exchange.
Already on the DNC list, wired and cell lines; both still get these robocalls.
What makes FCC think the robocall spammers even care about their silly regulations?
I grant that the new rule is one more tool when (if?) they take these guys to court, if they ever find them.
Can we ban these in whole?
Oh I forgot they write rules for other people.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
I'm looking into getting produced a product which could not only block all of these calls, but which would be automatically updated to block new sources of telemarketing, political spam, and so on.
Landlines, smartphones, PBX system, VoIP.
I'm still not sure which version to pursue, though - the one which simply blocked the calls, or the one which forwarded them to a suite of audio-equipped Elizabots running genetic algorithms to determine which responses could keep human callers on the line the longest.
There was even an interesting post on Reddit from an ex-telemarketer who called someone who convinced the poster to not only terminate the call, but to quit his job there and then. I wonder if the concept/response tree could be automated, or weighted according to voice/stress analysis indicating what's affecting a caller emotionally. And of course, fingerprinting would mean that any telemarketer calling subsequent service subscribers would be able to be identified and the response system could pick up where it left off. (Or try a number of different approaches until it sensed a weakness, then pursue that.)
Are they going to have to call robotically to have us opt-in to these robotic calls? Hmmm.
The telemarketing problem was already solved with the national do-not-call registry. If you opt out there, they already can't call you. The real problem is that people other than telemarketers can still get around that registry, and can make robocalls (presumably, this new rules won't change that). So the short of it? This will do nothing to stop say, Rick Santorum's campaign calling me to ask if it would change my opinion about Mitt Romney if I knew he *did x act that he didn't do*. Crack down on push polling robocalls, instead. We already have a means to take care of the telemarketers.
All of the robocalls that I get are from spoofed CID numbers. First we need to outlaw spoofed numbers.
Yes. This is the insidious intentional error that's the "hook" in this copypasta troll.
"The new rules won't apply to certain types of calls, including ..."
Protected by paywall, subscribers only.
I wanted to know these rules, and linking to a story that is behind a paywall leaves out said crucial details.
"The new rules do not apply to a telemarketing company that has a real person dial the phone numbers. The FCC says the do not call list is still a consumer's first line of protection against telemarketing calls.
There are exceptions to these rules. School closing information and flight cancellations can be made to land line phones without written permission. The FCC says consumers could sue the companies that violate the new rules. "
Much better.
Auto-filter out any WSJ links, mods/admins. That shit is annoying. Ban WSJ period from /.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
I've only seen one worthy comment of how politicians are exempt from any Do Not Call list, and it didn't say anything about why they are exempt. The idea is that they need to reach out to you because you are the deciding factor in some election. That's fine (unless you work 3rd shift and somehow end up on these lists). Until you actually listen to the shill and realize they're robocalling you in a state/county/province/wherever that you aren't legally able to vote in anyway. I'm 100% for criminalizing robocallers, Not that it makes a difference on how I feel, because politicians are exempt, and some asshole politician I never heard of a thousand miles away deems my vote for him or her will make a difference. I will never vote for or do business with anyone who has violated my phone.
Can anyone share their opinion on using robocalls for things like Appointment Reminders, or for a public library letting you know that the book you requested is in or that a book is overdue. Are those valid uses?